Editor Per J. Andersson and Photographer Pernilla Sjöholm, two members from Vagabond travel magazine, arrive in Maldives for a familiarization trip targeting the Swedish market.

Vagabond is a leading travel magazine in Sweden, published in Sweden, Norway and Denmark. The magazine is one of the oldest and renowned travel magazines in Scandinavia and publishes travel related articles. Vagabond Magazine has a circulation of 47,500 readers per week on its website, with a distribution of 50,000 copies and 149,000 readers for print.

This trip will take place from 26th August to 3rd September during which the team from Vagabond will travel and stay at 3 host properties, including The Standard Hurawalhi, Fiyavalhu Maldives and JOALI Maldives. During these visits, they will take part in experiences such as snorkeling, spa and wellness facilities, watersports and will discover haute gourmet cuisines unique to each property.

The team from Vagabond will do coverage with focused articles of the host properties, including a broad picture of the range of hotels in Maldives and share various experiences of the destination. Confirmed coverage of the trip includes 10 pages in the printed magazine in

which they will include details of host properties and the destination. They will also publish corresponding digital publications on the Vagabond website.

We organized the trip as part of our efforts to increase Maldives’ popularity and to promote the destination as a haven for the Swedish travelers. It also aims to increase engagement with tourists from the Swedish market.

This is the first FAM trip activity to be held for the Swedish market by Visit Maldives this year. Previous events held during the year for this market include a webinar with Emirates held in March. Future activities planned for Sweden for upcoming months include travel trade FAM trip, Google Ad word campaign, campaign with Nordic Leisure Travel Group, joint campaign with travel operator and a webinar series.

By July 2021, Maldives welcomed 7,553 travelers from Sweden, ranking 23rd, with 0.8 shares of the total arrival. Maldives welcomed 5,613 travellers from Sweden in 2020 and 13,245 arrivals in 2019.